By Kylie Bull
HSToday – Special to In Homeland Security
British Prime Minister David Cameron told his defense chiefs that more money should be spent on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in the fight against ISIS. He also recommended increasing funding for special forces and new spy aircraft.
The UK government recently pledged to spend two percent of national wealth on defense until 2020 (as per NATO’s target) and Cameron’s call for a defense review came on July 13, following a recent spate of extremist attacks around the world.
The review is due to be concluded by the end of the year and is expected to include countermeasures to deal with a more aggressive Russia and the risks posed by cyber attacks, as well as the threat from the likes of ISIS, Al Qaeda Boko Haram and other Islamist jihad organizations.
“Because we’ve got a strong economy we can now make the commitment to spending more – over and above inflation – on defense, as much potentially as £6bn more between now and 2020, and that will make sure Britain is safer. One of the things that we need is making sure that we have the drones, spy planes and special forces,” Cameron said.
Tornado and Reaper UAVs alone have flown over 1,000 missions and struck over 300 ISIS targets. But, the UK is also providing a support role for other countries with air-to-air refueling and other sophisticated airborne assets that play a vital role in enabling other nations to conduct strikes that they would otherwise be unable to do on their own.
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